A Little Something
by thekatthatbarks
Summary: Shikamaru is having trouble adjusting to the added workload of being Naruto's advisor and Sakura tries to think of something to do to cheer him up.


"Hey, Sakura!" Sakura turned around at the call of her name and smiled when she saw it was Naruto running up to her. He had that goofy grin of his and his Hokage robes flew with him as he ran, his hat bouncing off his back from where it was tied.

"What's up, _Naruto-sama_?" Sakura couldn't help but tease him with a smile. Naruto had only been in office a few months and still got this embarrassed grin any time anyone ever called him Hokage.

Sure enough, he scratched his nose with a wide smile. "Sakura-chan, I _told_ you to call me Naruto."

Sakura shrugged simply saying, "Robes." It was something they had all been arguing about since he took the seat. Naruto felt odd whenever someone close to him used the honorific and had tried to get his friends to just not use it. But no one wanted to take that away from him, so they'd compromised. Robes on was _Naruto-sama_ and _Hokage-sama_. Any other time he was just _Naruto_. They were sure he'd get used to it eventually.

Naruto looked down at himself almost as if he'd forgotten he was wearing them. He sighed and looked back to her with a nod. "Right."

Sakura chuckled and then asked him a little more serious, "Is there something wrong? I was on my way to the hospital, but if you need me…" As much as he tried to walk around the village and see everyone, Naruto didn't get many chances to. For him to come looking for her himself made her a little worried.

Naruto waved off her worries, but his smile fell slightly. "Oh, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to talk to you about something."

Sakura nodded and began walking again with Naruto next to her. "Okay."

"It's just…" Naruto stared ahead of them like he was trying to find the words. "Shikamaru's been a little stressed lately. He became my advisor like we'd always planned, but he also kept his position as Jounin Commander. I think he's just having a hard time adjusting to the added work load."

Sakura's heart sunk at what he said. She'd been wondering what had been bothering Shikamaru lately. Whenever she saw him, he seemed tired and more irritable. It had also been hard trying to get a chance to spend time with him at all. He was always so busy and now that Naruto put it that way, she could see why. She looked at Naruto with a sad smile. "Here I thought, there wasn't much Shikamaru couldn't handle."

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, well, I think he'll be fine. He just has to get in the hang of things. We're both still learning all of this."

Sakura nodded, comforted by the thought that there really _wasn't_ much Shikamaru couldn't handle. It just sucked that he was having a harder time handling things now.

When Naruto didn't say anything else, she asked him, "Is that it? What you wanted to talk about?"

He nodded and she looked at him a little confused. He could have told her all of this tomorrow when they had plans. It seemed odd that he felt like he had to come find her and tell her. "Well, if you think he'll figure it out himself, why'd you feel the need to come find me out of all people and to tell me that?"

Naruto just stared at her for a second and then he snorted, cocking an eyebrow at her. "You? _Out of all people_? Sakura, come on."

"Come on, what?" Sakura feigned ignorance, though she had inkling of what he was implying. She didn't really feel like going into that, though. At least not _now_.

Naruto rolled his eyes at her and crossed his arms behind his head. "Come on, Sakura. No need to play dumb. Everyone knows what's going on between you and Shikamaru."

Sakura felt her cheeks redden. _Everyone?_ She looked away from him, making him chuckle. She thought about denying it, but that would probably just end up making her divulge more than she wanted to in the end. She shrugged nonchalantly, trying to smoothly summarize her relationship with Shikamaru. "We're just…it's not like – um, he just – I…" She failed miserably.

Naruto laughed, took pity on her and patted her arm comfortingly. "You don't have to explain, Sakura. I get it. I wasn't going to ask about it, anyway. I just thought I'd let you know what was going on. Maybe you could – I don't know – do a little something for him."

Sakura felt her skin flame up and she reactively hit Naruto on the arm, not hard enough to hurt him too bad, but to at least leave a bruise. In her embarrassment, she dropped his honorific as she glared at him. " _Naruto_!"

He looked at her in complete shock, rubbing his arm. "What? What did I –" His eyes widened and then he started laughing. "Sakura, I didn't mean it like _that_."

Her blush deepened and she looked away from him. Then, she heard him mumble, "I mean, unless, you _wanted_ to…"

When her head whipped back to him, he just gave her a cheeky grin. She sighed, biting the inside of her cheek. He was just teasing her. It would be better to wait for the right moment and make him feel as embarrassed as she felt right now. "I'm going to pretend you didn't say that."

Naruto chuckled and came to a stop in the road. "Well, I should be heading back."

Sakura's face softened and she smiled at him. "Thanks for telling me."

He just grinned at her and gave her a wink – that she was _not_ going to think about was implying – before disappearing back towards the Hokage Tower.

Sakura waited around an hour at the hospital, thinking Shikamaru must just be running late. It wouldn't be a first time. But when he was about to be almost two hours late, she started getting a little worried. She decided to go look for him, telling her head nurse if he came by to let him know where she went.

She tried the Tower first, but when she ran into Kotetsu he told her he had seen Shikamaru leave a few hours ago. Trying to not let that worry her, she went to the next place she thought he'd be. But when she got to his favorite hill to cloud watch, he wasn't there either. Her next thought would be that he must have gotten held up with Ino and Choji, but then she remembered they had a date tonight, so that possibility wasn't likely.

She doubted something was actually wrong with him, but she couldn't stop that nagging worry in the back of her mind. If he was ever late to any plans they had, he would somehow let her know, by either sending someone or a messenger bird if he had to. She felt a little nervous as she walked to her next guess, but she tried to shake it off. Now that she had worked herself up looking for him, she had to find him. She knew she was overreacting, but she didn't think Shikamaru would mind that she was worrying about him. It wasn't like it was a bad thing.

Sakura had always found Shikamaru's mom a little intimidating and that may be all because of how he talked about her when they were younger. She was strict and overbearing, _always nagging_. Sakura had kept in mind, though, that Shikamaru was a very _lazy_ child so his mother couldn't have been overreacting _all the time_. But as she walked up to her front door, she had her own reasons for being nervous. She'd been around her more the past few months since she started seeing Shikamaru. She was always so happy to see Sakura and Sakura liked her too even if she was a little headstrong. There wasn't anything wrong with that. She didn't feel as nervous as she used to around her, but it was still there.

Yoshino answered the door with a surprised smile when she saw that it was Sakura. She must have been washing dishes because she had a rag in her hand that she was drying her hands with. She grabbed Sakura's arm and pulled her inside. "Sakura-chan! It's so nice to see you."

Sakura smiled at her and let herself be pulled to the kitchen. "You, too, Yoshino-san."

Yoshino grabbed some glasses from a cabinet and poured each of them some tea. Sakura took it with a small thanks when she handed it to her. Yoshino started to ask her, "So, what brings you by? Shikamaru said –" Her smile fell and then she said, "He never went to go get you, did he?"

Sakura looked at her surprised that she knew they had plans and shook her head. "No, he didn't. How did you – so he _is_ here?"

Yoshino glared out the window. "Yes, I'm sure he's still out there since you haven't seen him. Probably fell asleep." She mumbled something under her breath that Sakura pretended to not hear.

Sakura knew Yoshino was mad for her sake, which was heartening in a way but she didn't want him to get in trouble. He had enough on his plate as is. She gave Yoshino a small smile glancing out the window at the Nara Forest, knowing Shikamaru was probably lying in a field somewhere. "Don't be mad at him, Yoshino-san. He's been really stressed lately with the added work of being Naruto's advisor. I'm not surprised he fell asleep somewhere. He probably needs it."

Yoshino's shoulders slumped and she sighed after taking a drink of her tea. "I figured it had to be something like that. He looked so worn out earlier." She looked back to Sakura with a gentle smile. "You're good for him, you know."

Sakura blushed and had no idea what to say in response. Yoshino didn't seem to mind, though, and looked out the window continuing, "He's been happier since you two started _spending so much time together_." She gave Sakura a sly smile, making her blush deepen. "He doesn't tell me to _stop nagging him_ as much anymore. So, thank you."

Sakura gave her a nervous laugh and replied awkwardly, "You're welcome."

Yoshino chuckled, probably at her expense. Before Sakura could feel any more embarrassment, she set her glass down on the counter and leaned towards the back door. "You don't mind if I go look for him?"

She shook her head. "Of course not, Sakura-chan. You're welcome in the Nara grounds any time. You don't have to ask."

Sakura smiled at her before stepping through the door. "Thank you."

Shikamaru had brought her out here only a few times. It was larger than most people knew, at least than she had expected. It could take hours to find him, but she figured he was in the small field he'd showed her before. He'd said he liked to go there when he didn't want to be bothered, which was probably how he was feeling today.

Sakura was quiet as she walked, making sure to avoid any twigs or leaves so she wouldn't startle any of the deer. When she finally reached the small field, she was relieved to finally see Shikamaru. He was laying in the grass obviously fallen asleep like his mother had guessed. Sakura leaned against a tree just looking at him with a soft smile. She didn't know how long he'd been there, but he'd made himself comfortable. He'd taken off his flak jacket and was using it as a pillow curled up on his side. His pony tail was a mess, his dark hair falling out of it. He looked adorable.

As she walked over to him, she noticed with amusement that a small deer had even gone and laid down next to him. It looked up at her when she reached him but when she simply laid down beside him, it put its head back down. She wanted to reach out for him but was worried she would wake him up, which she didn't want. He obviously needed the sleep and she didn't mind laying there for a while longer. She watched him as his chest rose with his breath as he slept. Her eyes traced over him from the arch in his eyebrow down the slope of his nose to the curves of his lips. He wasn't even awake but just from looking at him caused a flutter in her chest.

She felt warm lying next to him on the soft grass. She turned her eyes to the sky above them. The stars were starting to peek out through the warm pinks and purples that faded into blue. It was a nice view.

Shikamaru woke up to something he wished he could wake up to everyday. Sakura was lying next to him, her emerald eyes staring up at the sky with a soft expression. Her long pink hair was in swirls on the grass, a beautiful contrast to the dark green. Her skin had this warm glow to it and he found himself reaching out for her without thinking. She looked over at him when he grabbed her arm and he smiled at her tiredly. She smiled back at him making him feel warm despite the slight chill in the air. Then, he realized.

"Dammit," he cursed and sat up looking up at the sky. It was already nightfall. He sighed and looked down at Sakura apologetically. "I was supposed to go pick you up. I'm sorry, Sakura. I only meant to lay down for a few minutes and it's already so late."

Sakura smiled at him and grabbed his hand pulling him down to her to where his head rested on her chest. She learned her head against his combing her fingers through his hair and taking his ponytail out. "It's okay, Shika. It's barely nine. We can stay here a little longer."

Shikamaru sighed and relaxed against, his heart skipping a beat from her calling him _Shika_ , even though it was far form the first time. A lot of things about their relationship had changed over the last few months, but that had to be one of his favorites. He loved the way it rolled off her lips, affectionate and intimate. He reached out for her hand and intertwined their fingers, stroking his thumb across her soft skin. Another favorite of his.

He couldn't even pinpoint when things had changed. It had just been gradual, something neither of them had even noticed happening. They'd started spending more time together and then it slowly turned into always seeking the other out when they were free. It felt natural for him to one day reach out and grab her hand, her surprised blush one of his favorite memories. More casual touches followed; her hand on his knee under the table at dinner, his arm wrapped around her waist as they walked, her playfully pulling out his ponytail while he was cooking. He didn't even remember thinking it through when he first kissed her. She'd come back from a long mission and it had just felt right to. Another thing he didn't think he'd ever be able to forget.

They never talked about it, what was going on between them. It was probably why they hadn't really outright told anyone. But they had this unspoken understanding between them and Shikamaru knew everyone could see it. It wasn't like they hid it, they just didn't talk about it. No one had commented on it either, at least _yet_. Shikamaru was sure Ino would snap at soon and demand details. But until then, he was comfortable just like this and he knew Sakura felt the same.

Even so, he still felt like he should tell her something. Some kind of promise, or acknowledgement, just _something_. She was all he thought about whenever he had the chance to think about anything besides _work_. He looked forward to when he would see her again. He missed her when she wasn't with him, even more when she was away on a mission. He fell asleep thinking about her and woke up wondering if he could catch breakfast with her if he hadn't already slept over. She deserved to know how he felt or at least have some sort of _idea_.

He lifted his head and leaned over her looking down at her. She smiled up at him melting his heart and he brought his hand up to cup her cheek. He loved how she instantly leaned into his touch. Thousands of words ran through his mind of how to say it. _I love you_ ran by more than once, but he thought it was too soon to say that even if it was true. So, he told her simply, "You make me happy."

Her smile widened and she used the hand on the back of his head to pull him down for a sweet kiss. She told him against his lips in a warm voice, "You make me happy, too."

He kissed her again, this time longer and he could feel how her fingers tugged lightly in his hair. When he pulled away from her, she looked up at him slyly and said, "Guess what I bought today?"

He held back a chuckle at her obvious excitement and asked, "What?"

"Mackerel." She grinned, knowing it was his favorite, and let her hand trailed down to his chest. "I have a recipe from your mom that I've been wanting to try, so why don't we head to my apartment? I'm sure you're starving since you decided to sleep the day away."

He laughed and got to his feet, pulling her up with him. He felt a warmth grow in his chest as she slipped her smaller hand in his and they walked back towards the village. Growing up he never thought he'd have this with Sakura despite the small crush he'd always had on her. Now, he couldn't see ever _not_ having this with her.

"Hey, Shika?" Sakura said as they were washing dishes after dinner. "Did you sleep well earlier?"

Shikamaru thought about it, realizing he had probably slept around three hours straight. He'd needed it, but he regretted sleeping for so long. He would probably have a hard time falling asleep tonight. He replied as he put the last dish in the dry rack, "Yeah, I guess. Why?"

Sakura shrugged as she dried her hands with a rag. "Oh, no reason." Then, turned to him with that coy smile of hers and pulled him closer to her by his shirt. Her eyes followed her hands as they slithered up to his chest and then came back down his arms. "I just had a _little something_ for you." She looked up at him and told him in a teasing voice, "But you know what? I think I might be just a little too tired."

She watched as his eyes widened slightly, a red tint covering his cheeks. His hands came to grip her waist and he said, "Oh, I don't know, Sakura. I think you've got some pretty good stamina."

She stepped away from him with a yawn and walked out of the kitchen towards the bedroom. "Hm? I don't think so. I'm pretty beat."

He came up and grabbed her from behind pulling her back to him. He kissed her cheek and complained, "You're such a tease."

Sakura held back a giggle and moved out of his arms again. _It was just so much more fun to play with him._ She walked backwards until her back hit her door and shook her head. "Really, though, you might have to put some coffee on or I'm going to pass out before we even make it to the bed."

Shikamaru glared at her playfully and said in a serious tone, "Don't think I won't, miss _little something_."

Sakura laughed and grabbed his hand before leading him through the door.

Naruto coughed again for the third time in the past twenty minutes – obviously fake – and Shikamaru sighed. He gave in and finally looked over at him. "What is it, Naruto-sama?"

Naruto gave him a smug look with this knowing grin that Shikamaru wasn't entirely sure he was comfortable with. "You're welcome."

Shikamaru looked at him confused. "What?"

Naruto leaned back in his chair and put his arms behind his head. "You haven't looked like you were dragging your feet today. You keep smiling randomly. _Something_ good obviously happened. So, _you're welcome_ , Shikamaru."

Shikamaru still had no idea what he was talking about, but nodded anyway with an amused smile. "Okay, Naruto-sama. Then, _thank you_."


End file.
